CRAVINGS!!!

Magadelana

I just need to vent.....

I have been trying all month to go bread/grain/sweets free. I get such bad headaches and am so hungry that I can't stand it and I break. I am hell bent on getting fit this year and I just can't let go of the goodies. I am just frustrated and am tired of feeling icky, I don't like it.

Has anyone noticed a way to curb the cravings without giving in to the sugar monster?

Alliwan

how low are you keeping your carbs if you've gone bread/grain/etc free? and did you up your fats when you lowered your carbs?

if you go very low carbs you can get what is affectionately called 'carb flu' where your body is learning to switch over from using carb energy to using fat energy. it lasts a week, sometimes two but you feel better once your body makes the switchover.

I don't know about others, but for me I need to make sure I up my sodium and fats during that time. If I get a sweets craving, ill do some sugar free jello with whipping cream whipped up as a topping with some natural stevia in it. Or some other high fat dessert like item. Ive got lots of things in the low carb cookbooks I have.

I have found that once I give in to a bread/carb/etc I have a very hard time saying no again so I try to substitute my cravings with something similar but low carb. ive fallen off the wagon the last two weeks myself but trying to get better.

Dragonwolf

Eat more fat.

There are some low(er) carb diets that will go so far as to say don't even worry about calorie intake in the first week or two, just eat when you're hungry and make sure it's fats. Let your body get through the carb flu, then get back to logging and watching calories. Believe it or not, even doing that, you're probably not eating as many calories as you think, and any amount over that you may be eating are more than made up for in the long-term with the success you'll likely have with your health and weight loss.

Whether or not you go that far, keep in mind that your body needs carbs and/or fat to use as fuel and help get nutrients into the body. If you decrease your carbs, you must increase your fats. A high protein, low carb, low fat diet is a road to failure (see also: rabbit starvation). Protein is building blocks, fats and carbs are fuel.

future_cpa

Thanks for the information on carb flu. The information covered online says fight through it but I missed three days from work already. I'm about to eat a small bowl of grits and a package of 100 calorie cookies. I'll get a high in fat dinner.

Bertie02

I've found in the past if I cut breads/pastas etc out slowly I don't have as much of a withdrawal from it when I cut it completely. With that being said, I've found that I much prefer to eat small amounts of breads/pastas vs none at all. For me its more realistic and I can still get my blood sugars down and lose weight. I'm happier and I don't go through all the horrible withdrawals. The stuff I do eat is whole grain and the least refined as possible. I also don't eat processed carbs at all my meals. So lunch I might have a chicken stir fry with only chicken and veggies (no rice pasta bread etc) but at dinner I'll have 1/2-1 serving of pasta. I'm satisfied with that and keeps the sickness away.